


19) Hold. Check your gear.

by Munnin



Series: Hugin Chronicles [19]
Category: Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Injury Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 19:59:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11585154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Munnin/pseuds/Munnin
Summary: Treating the injured clones gives the squad an enforced moment to pause. And Fordo, Crispy, and Tahl a chance to talk.





	19) Hold. Check your gear.

**Author's Note:**

> Red Mist Squad based on characters created by Joe Hogan for the [ The Siren of Dathomir](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3z0kyf53Ds) and [ Panic Over Muunilinst ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3-_EnhMEDE). Stolen, run away with, and abused with his permission.
> 
> The Grey Jedi and Odd Squads are original characters based on members of the CSWCC. The original Argument’s End series can be found [here](http://munnin.dreamwidth.org/tag/grey+jedi+verse).

Fordo sat in the holding room off the medbay. Waiting. Just waiting. He hadn’t moved since they left Silvestri VII’s orbit. Hadn’t even geared down beyond taking his helmet off. 

Fernie assured him the Argument’s End had the best medical facilities they’d ever seen. That Crispy and Hugin wouldn’t be getting better care even if they were on Coruscant.

Fordo couldn’t argue with that. Or complain about how their medical team had handled things since they landed. 

He couldn’t fault them in the least. 

But that didn’t mean he trusted them. Or felt any less worried about his men.

Five hours after they landed on the Argument’s End, a very tired looking Fernie come out to sit next to him.

“They’re both stable for now but they’ll need extensive time in the bacta tanks.” The medic explained, rubbing his eyes. “Crispy will be waking up soon. I said you’d want some time to talk to them both before they were tanked. It’ll be… maybe another half hour before Hugin comes to. And even then, we’ll need to keep him a little doped up, just to keep him calm. The risk of shock setting in is too high to bring him all the way out.” 

Fordo nodded, steeling himself. “Is there anything I need to know? Before I-”

Fernie nodded. “Yes, but perhaps it’s better Crispy gives his report first. He deserves that.” He nodded towards the medbay door. “I can fill you in on the rest before Hugin comes to.”

Fordo straightened himself up and nodded, picking up his helmet and following the medic in.

The medbay was state of the art, large and well lit. For all his imagination had expected a mess of bloody surgical tools and med-droids, everything was gleamingly clean and smelling of antiseptic. 

Without meaning to, Fordo’s eyes were drawn to where Hugin lay. The stump of his left arm was encased in a bubble of bacta, it’s opalescence hiding the damage beneath. Held in place by force-fields, the liquid rippled slowly, like something organic. For reasons he couldn’t explain, the image turned Fordo’s stomach. Long deep cuts from the big cat’s claws raked Hugin’s ribs and his upper thigh, the tapered red edges showing above crisp white bandaged that held standard bacta patches in place. A bitemark from the cat’s powerful jaws marking the side of his neck, each tooth leaving a puncture wound, so narrowly missing his artery. 

But it was the old scar that Fordo couldn’t look away from. The puckered burn at the hollow of his throat, a year old or more. Kamino. Had to be.

Crispy cleared his throat from the other bed, wide bacta patches covering his broken ribs and cracked collarbone.

"Yeah, yeah, I haven't forgotten about you, sunshine.” Fordo chimed with forced cheerfulness, turning to face his lieutenant. “How are you feeling? Better than your looks, I hope." 

Crispy was thrown off guard for a moment, but couldn’t help but smile. It was the first time in months he had heard the captain skip formalities. "Some of us have to get the job done, you know. Not everyone has time for sightseeing..."

Fordo's muscles relaxed instantly. He abruptly sat on the nearest medical equipment -- that wasn't plugged into anything. “Good. Your sense of humour is intact." His gaze wandered back to Hugin, and Fordo slowly found himself tensing right back up all over again. "You did good out there. I'm proud of you."

Crispy's eyes narrowed. “They were right you know...He's gone. He's been gone since Kamino.” He sighed, feeling his rib pull. “We saved a stranger, Captain. A stranger in Hugin's body. I'm not sure...what I should think.”

“Stow that, Lieutenant.” Fordo countered sharply. “Whether or not he's still Hugin, he's still our brother. You're here. Hugin's here. By my count, we're up one from Kamino." Fordo crossed his arms and straightened his back. Crispy recognised it as a stance the Captain only wore in the rare instance of incoming tough love. “We did everything we could. YOU did everything you could. We'll give him a chance to regroup himself and take steps accordingly. But this was not a failure.”

Fernie kept to the back of the room, gesturing the Odds medical team to let them be. This was a family matter and needed to be handled as such. Lark, Corvus’ chief medical officer eyeballed the bio-display over Crispy’s bed meaningfully. Discretion and distance only lasted while Crispy’s heart rate stayed within a safe range.

Fordo kept his eyes fixed on Crispy's, but motioned his head in the direction of Fernie. "The boss says you're gonna be field-ready sooner rather than later, after some time lounging around the Bacta pool. But I need you to be straight with me. If you need time to collect yourself before you're back out there, I don't want you suiting up. That isn't a request.” Fordo expected opposition to his order. The last time he had to have this talk with Crispy was after Kamino. 

In this moment, he realised that the mere thought of the word – ‘Kamino’ -- had a completely different taste in his brain these days. 

It used to be home. Now it was the source of a memory that led to a very long and emotionally exhausting ordeal. 

Fordo wasn't the type to dwell on emotions. But even he felt the shared stress of his Red Mist Squad since the battle of Kamino. He pushed it down and reiterated the question. “Whatever you tell me, I'm going to trust you. But I need you to be sure.”

Crispy's gaze turned serious. The weight of a year long search, was taken away. The reunion with Hugin didn't end up as warm and joyful as he’d expected. If anything, it had been as disastrous as it could be...one step away from a KIA scenario. But he felt content... his old self coming back. 

“Cap, they can repair flesh. They cannot repair a soul. Only I can do that. And I did. We did.” He gestured to his broken body “This? IS NOTHING.” Crispy was in pain, but he made his point clear. “I will be up and running again for the next mission. Unless it is in 5 minutes. Then I'm not.” He gave his captain a warm smile

Fordo nodded. “Alright then, Lieutenant. When Fernie gives us the okay, we're shipping out to Muunilinst. Seppies have the stones to try to take the place back after General Kenobi blew bounty hunter chunks all over their command centre. Guess we're just gonna have to tear down some more buildings before they get the message.” 

That established, Fordo spun on his heel after a fast-as-light stand, and looked over Hugin one last time before walking confidently and deliberately to the door. “Get some rest, it's gonna be a long fight.”

Just as Fordo reached the door, Hugin's eyes fluttered open, his face twisted in a grunt of pain. Fernie crossed the floor with swift steps, resting a hand on his shoulders to keep him from trying to sit up. “No, no. Take it slow.” The medic glanced over to Fordo for help as Hugin started to panic. "Hold him."

Just as quickly Fordo got from Crispy's bedside to the door, in half the time he was at Hugin's. He placed his hands anywhere that didn't look damaged. “Easy. EASY. You're safe.” Command tone slipping into his voice. 

Tahl looked up at him, expression caught between panicked and mutinous. The scale tipped towards panicked as he went to move a hand that was no longer there. 

Fernie pressed an injector to Tahl's neck. "This is just to keep you calm. You're badly wounded. You mustn't move around too much. Do you understand?" 

Tahl breathed through his nose, trying to keep from hyperventilating as the drugs kicked in, looking up at Fordo uncomprehendingly. He glanced across at Crispy, his expression sliding towards fear. 

Where were the girls? Where were they taking him? Where was his arm?

“Hugi-” Fordo started, correcting himself, “Tahl. You have to trust us. We're on the same team. I know you don't remember, but you're one of us. We'd put your safety ahead of our own if it came down to it. Just take it easy. We'll tell you everything when you're ready."

Tahl kept fighting the panic, looking up at Fordo without so much as a glimmer of recognition. The only person in the room he knew was Crispy. He turned his head to look across at the other injured man, raising a shaking right hand to sign something, something he hoped Crispy would remember. *The girls?*

Crispy gave Hugin a sympathetic look. "Tahl is asking about the girls. Is that right?" he looked to Captain Fordo. "Cap, if you want him to calm down, you HAVE to get intel on the sisters. Now." He looked back over to Hugin's side. "They were with the Jedi...I doubt there was anywhere safer on the planet. Breathe."

Tahl nodded, gratitude flashing across his face, his struggles slackening a little.

Lark came over to rest a reassuring hand on Tahl's shoulder, holding his eye. "Tahl, the Rus sisters are here on the ship. Rebec suffered some minor injuries during the fight but nothing we couldn’t fix. She's fine now. I can send for them as soon as you're ready.”

Tahl nodded frantically, needing to see for himself that Rebec was already.

Lark give Tahl a warm smile. “Then I’ll send for them right away. No doubt they’ll be waiting for the call. Eva was insistent she talk to you before you went into the tank. She's a very _insistent_ young lady." 

The Corvus Squad medic glanced to Fordo and Crispy. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.” His way of letting them know that anything that needed to be said between them privately, should be said now.

The clones looked at each other – Fordo, Crispy and the man who was no-longer Hugin. There was so much still unsaid. So much unresolved. But little more that could be done now. 

Crispy looked at the Captain, breaking the silent tension. "Well I think it's time for me to roll out in the tank. We don't have any place here." He threw a hand-sign at a holocam up in the corner, that he was ready to go, the medical personnel moving to ready things. "I'll need some holovids this time. These tanks are healing my body, but crushing my soul with boredom."

"We can certainly arrange that." Lark nodded as he and Fernie helping Crispy up, moving him to the corner to prep for the tanking. 

Tahl watched him go, his eyes still wide with pain. He looked up at Fordo, still without recognition or trust.

Fordo had seen enough to know his welcome was going to be worn out as well. After a brief nod to Hugin, he flashed a hand signal -- a strictly squad-learned hand signal -- to them both on his way out. 

*Hold. Check your gear* 

On the job, the Captain wasn't much for words. He and Red Mist relied heavily on hand signals to convey orders and details quickly and precisely. But on occasion, Fordo would flash the same hand signal. *Hold. Check your gear* 

Sometimes it meant there was a lull in the fight, and a brief opportunity to make sure everything was functioning properly. The eye of the storm.

But more often than not, it was Fordo's way of saying ‘Take a moment. Get it together.’ -- *Hold. Check your gear* 

He knew Crispy understood. He hoped Hugin did too. 

But he didn't stay to ask.


End file.
